Coin-controlled adjustable current-transmitter.



'PATENTBD SEPT. 22, 1903.

I M. D. COMPTON. COIN GONTROLLED'ADJUSTABLE CURRENT TRANSMITTER.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 5, 1901. RENEWED FEB. 25, 1902.

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PATENT OrFicE.

MELVIN D. COMPTON, or NEW roan, N. Y.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 739,291, dated September 22, 1903.

Application filed April 5, 1901. Renewed February 25. 1902. Serial to. 95,564. (No model.)

. biles and the like--thev amount of current which is paid for under those conditions which the purchaser or consumer may desire; second, to provide a simple, compact, and reliable coin-controlled device which shall consist of comparatively few parts of simple con struction, and, third, to simplify the construction and reduce the number of parts of the apparatus described in my application for a patent, serially numbered 44,660, without depriving it of any of its advantages.

To these and other ends hereinafter set forth the invention, stated in general terms, comprises coin-controlled apparatus for closing the supply-circuit, means for regulating said circuit, time allowance or retarding devices for controlling the opening of the circuit, and connections between the circuit.

regulating means and time-allowance devices whereby the time-allowance devices are automatically brought into correspondence with adjustments of the circuit-regulating means, and it further comprises the improvements hereinafter described and claimed.

The nature, characteristic features, and scope of my invention will be more fully understood from the followin g description,taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, and in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a coincontrolled device embodying features of the.

the connections between the same and the time-allowance devices, and Fig. 8 is a sectional plan illustrating details of construction.

. In the drawings, 1 is a casing or housing, which is provided with a door, as 2. When thedoor is shut, a socket 3 for the reception of a charging-plug of, for example, an automobile-battery is accessible from the exterior. As illustrated in the drawings, the door is'cut away for this purpose. Within the housing there are a coin-slot 4, Fig. 1, a coincontrolled handle 5 for turning on the current and setting in motion the time-allowance devices, which subsequently turn off a handle 6 I for regulating the current and for adjusting the time-allowance devices to accord with arms, extends crosswise of the housing, so as to bring the parts into the proper positions. The buffer 12 is normally held by its spring in the position shown in Fig. 4, and when a charging-plug isiuserted into the socket 3 it collides with the buffer and-pushes it into the position shown in Fig. 5, and in that way the buffer operates to releasethe door. As soon as the door is released the spring-button 14 pushes it part way open, thus indicating to the purchaser that it is the intention for'him to open the door and also enabling him to conveniently do so. a

The described inward motion of the bufier 12 causes it to operate upon the lever 15. The

latteris controlled by a spring .16: and is adapted to lift and release .thepawl 17, because it is provided with an arm disposed in range of a pin on the pawl. The motion of the lever 15, which has been referred to, per: inits the pawl 17 to engage the teeth of the bar 18. The latter is connected, as by a cord 19,. with the door and is also operatedupon by a spring 20. Since thepawl 17 has been released, it engages theteethof the bar 18, and in that way holds the rod against the spring and permits the door to remain in open position. As soon as the charging-plug is withdrawn the parts return to their initial positions, as shown in Fig. 4-that is to say, the pawl 17 releases the bar. and the spring 20 closes the door, which is caught by the catch 10, which is shifted by the spring of the buffer.

A coin is inserted through the slot 4 and enters the coinchute 21. The coin-pusher 7 is pressed and it is connected with the bellcrank lever The latter is operated upon by a spring 23 and in turn is connected with a pusher 24 by a slot-and-pin connection. The pusher 24 serves to push the coin past the arm 25 of a bell-crank lever. The other arm 26 of this bellcrank lever is operated upon by a spring 27, and it serves a twofold purpose. In the first place, it turns the throatlatch 28 out of the coin-chute. For this purpose it is connected by a slot-and-pin connection with the link 29. The purpose of the throat-latch when in its normal position, as shown in Fig. 4, is to direct inappropriate objects out of the coin-chute and through the space 30. The other purpose of the arm 26 is to position the guard-lever 31, which will be presently described.

The hand-lever 5 is provided with an arm 32 and with a spring 33, that tends to turn it into the position shown in Fig. 4. The arm 32 carries a coin-lever 34. The coin-lever 34 has a pocket 35,into which the coin drops, and the weight of the coin turns the coin-lever into engagement with thesingle tooth of the wheel 36. It might be possible if it were not for the guard-lever to shake the handle 5, and in that way vibrate the coin-lever into e11- gagement with the wheel 36, and so defeat the machine. However, the guard-lever has an arm or hook 37, which normally engages or lies in front of a pin projecting forward, as shown in, Fig. 4, from the coin-lever, so that any attempt to vibrate the lever into engagement with the tooth on the wheel 36 would be baffled by the hook 37.

The guard-lever is connected by the link 38 through the intervention of a pin-and-slot connection with the arm 26, so that whenthe arm 26 is turned upward, as described, by the passage of a coin the link 38 turns the guard-lever, and in that way its hook 37 is lifted clear of the path of the pin on the coinlever, and its weight 39 is shifted to the right of its point of pivotal support, as shown in Fig. 5. This shifting of the weight holds the hook clear of the pin and the slot in the link 38 permits the parts 25 and 28 to be drawn by the spring 27 into their normal positions without shifting the guard lever. The coin now turns the coin-lever 34 so that it connects the handle 5 and wheel 36, and the person who is operating the device turns the handle. The wheel 36 is therefore turned in a counter clockwise direction in Fig. 4, and its turning. is availed of to wind or set a motor 40 in motion and to close the arm 41 in 1 4 of its fulcrum. 1 by its spring to its initial position whenever lit is released. back of the coin-lever travels on top of the :guide 50. coin-lever up, and since it is held up the pin respect to the contacts 42 of the switch. The motor 40 is shown as consisting of a train of spring-driven gears, whose unwinding is controlled by an escapement 42, which is equipped with a fan 43. The arm 41 of the switch is opened and closed by the spring 44, one end of which is connected to it and the other end of which is connected to the wheel 36. The arm 41 is provided, as shown, with a projection 45, adapted to take into a groove or track 46, carried by the wheel 36. hen the latter is turned, as described, the projection 45 enters the track 46, and the point 47 of connection of the spring to the wheel 36 is transferred past the fulcrum of the arm 41-- for example, as shown in Fig. 6. The result of this is that as soon as the part 45 runsout of the track 46 the spring 44 snaps the switch into its contacts and closes the circuit. At the same time the arm 48 of the bell-crank which is pivoted at 49 throws the coin-lever 34 upward by engaging the pin which projects forward from it into such position that the pin which projects backward from it rides on the guide 50. In that way the coin-lcver is prevented from influencing the movements of the wheel 36 until after the introduction of another coin.

During the downward turning of the handle 6 the arm 32 collides with the guard-lever and throws it back into its initial position-that is, with its weight on the left-hand side in Fig. The hand-lever 5 is returned In doing this the pin on the This of course holds the end of the which projects from it in Fig. 4 is lifted over the hook on the guard-lever, it being understood that the hook on the guard-lever projects backward like an arm in Fig. 4.

51 is a counter, and its operatingarm 52 is disposed in range of a pin 53 on the wheel 36, so that every time the device is operated the counter records that fact.

The switch will remain closed and the current will remain on until the motor in unwinding turns or permits the wheel 36 to be turned in a clock-wise direction to such an extent that the point 47 of its connection with the wheel is transferred to the left of the fulcrum of the arm 41 and until the part 45 runs ,out of the track 46, whereupon the spring 44 will turn the switch-arm 41 into its original position.

54 is a rheostat which is provided in order to enable the purchaser of the current to suit it to his particular needs. Ordinarily the handle 6 of the rheostat is locked in position. for supplying the smallest quantity of current. For this purpose thepawl 55 is pivoted to it, and this pawl is'operated upon by a spring 56, which draws it into engagement with the teeth of a rack 57. However, as soon as the switch 42 turns on the current the shuntcircuit, to behereinafter described, energizes which works on guides 63.

ing the teeth of the rack '59. Under these circumstances the purchaser may shift the handle 6 and in that way adj ust the resistance and regulate the current to his needs. Olearly since the'purchaser regulates the current that is to say, the character of the current. it is important to have the machine automat ically control the time during which the current is supplied; otherwise the machine would not accurately vend the current which corresponds to the money paid. To accomplish this, the handle 6 is made to not only regulate the current, but also to regulate the speed of the motor. As shown, for example, in Figs. 3 and 8, the handle 6 is provided with a pinion 60, that engages a movable rack-bar 61, which in turn carries a fork 62, that straddles the esoapement-lever, so that as the handle 6 is turned the fork or keeper 62 is made to approach or recede from the center of oscillathe anchors take more or less deeply into the spaces between the teeth, according to the position of the keeper 62.

The rheostat is shown as mounted alongside of the described coin-controlled appara tus, and the rack-bar 61 is shown as offset in Fig. 3, so as to permit it to reach the escapement-lever or rather the fork or keeper 62, The circuits are diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 2, and they may be traced as follows:

64 and 65 represent line-wires, which may be the wires of any usual system of distribution. These wires are connected with the switch 41 42, which is shown as of the doublepole variety, by wires or conductors 66 and 67. 3, and in one of them-for example, 67-is interposed the rheostat, of which the operating-handle is designated 6. side of the switch there is a shunt-circuit 68 69, which includes the lamp 9, that is visible from the exterior of the'device and which serves to advise the user that the circuit is on and that he can adjust the same to his needs, if necessary, by shifting the handle 6 of the rheostat 7O 71 represent a shunt-circuit which includes the magnet 58, that is carried by the arm 6 and this circuit '70 71 is arran ed on 7 U readily moved against the force of the spring 7 2, which tends to return it to its initial position. At the same time the pawl 55 is in position for holding the handle 6 after it has been adjusted against the force of its spring,

These wires 66 and 67 lead to the socket On the socket because the pawl 55 rack 59. e V n g '73 is a pushbutton which serves when pushed to interrupt the shunt 7l,and thereby demagnetize the magnet 58 and. in that way permit the purchaser to readjust the current at any time by shifting the handle 6. Of course whenever he shifts the handle for this purpose he also correspondingly influ ences the speed of the motor by reason of the described connections 60, 61, and 62, and in that way only may get the worth of his money in current, While at the same time he is perfectly free to vary the character of the current. The ampere-meter 8 is appropriately connected in the circuit 66 67, and therefore enables the purchaser to adjust the current by means of the handle 6, so as to meet his requirements.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates that modifications may be made in details without departing from the spirit thereof. Hence I do not limit myself to the precise construction and tends to engage the arrangement of parts hereinabove set forth,

and illustrated in the accompanying drawings; but,

Having thus described the nature'and objects of the invention, whatl claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A coin-controlled adjustable currenttransmitter comprising coin-controlled appa; ratus for closing the supply-circuit, means for regulating the current in said circuit, retarding mechanism for delaying and controlling the opening of said circuit, and connections between the current-regulating means and the time-allowance devices for adjusting the latter in accord with the former, su'bstantially as described.

2. A coin controlled adjust able current- 'means for regulating the current in saidjcir- IIO cuit, and connections between said means and in said circuit, electromechanical devices re sponding to the opening and closing of said circuit and operating to lock and unlock the rheostat, and connections between the rheostat and the motor devices for increasing and decreasing the speed of the latter, substantially as described.

4. In a coin-controlledadjustable currenttransmitter, the combination of the switch and its circuit, coin-controlled apparatus for closing the switch, motor devices for opening the switch, current-adjusting devices, means in te'rposed between the current-adjusting devices and the coin controlled apparatus whereby the latter release the former, and connections between the current adjusting devices and motor devices whereby the speed of the latter is controlled to suit each adjustment of the former, substantially as described.

5. The combination of a switch and its circuit, a motor for closing the switch, a device for regulating the speed of the motor, a rheostat for adjusting the current in the circuit, and connections between the arm of said rheostat and the speed-regulating device to bring the motor speed into correspondence with adjustment in the circuit, substantially as described.

G. In combination a wheel provided with a tooth, a pivotal coin-lever, a pivotal guardlever, substantially described, arranged to cooperate with the coin-lever and provided with a weight, a coin-chute, a bell-crank lever having one arm in the coin-chute, and a link pivotally connected to the guard-lever and having pi11-and-slot connection with the other arm of the bell-crank lever, substantially as 3 described.

7. The combination of a wheel having a tooth, a coin-lever, a guard-lever for preventing accidental engagement of the coin-lever with the tooth, and means responding to the passage of a coin and connected with the guard lever to shift the latter and free the coinlever, substantially as described.

8. In combination, a movable hand-lever, a coin-lever pivoted to the hand-lever, a wheel provided with a tooth adapted to cooperate with the coin-lever, a fixed guide for holding the coin-lever clear of the wheel during the return stroke of the hand-lever, a switch, means for connecting the switch and wheel to cause the latter to throw the former, and a lever connected with the switch and operatin to throw the coin-lever out of engagement with the tooth of the wheel and into position for engaging the guide upon the operation of the switch, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

W. J. JAcKsoN, FRANK. T. KALAs. 

